First 4 Steps in Branding Your Startup

No matter what you decide to do in life, it is always better to have contingencies in place than to try and wing it later. The latter usually requires much more effort, flexibility and resources, sometimes even compromising the very structure of your business or the model you intended to follow. You see, by giving your company a great start, you can ensure that future growth goes as smoothly and that is as organic as possible. With this in mind, here are first four steps that can guarantee your branding efforts are off to a great start.

1. Research the market

First things first, you need to know exactly who you are dealing with. Sure, you may be able to imagine what your intended audience looks like, but then again you can never know for sure. The best example for this is the My Little Pony franchise. Although originally intended as a kids show, for some reason, it has developed a cult status amongst the adult male population. Still, this doesn’t mean that the show’s creators should change anything to appeal to this new audience, since there is always a risk that this could interfere with the chemistry that this particular demographic has developed with the show. All in all, these things are always good to know.

2. Choose a good name

Next thing you need to worry about is choosing the right name for your business. You need something short, memorable and easy to both write and pronounce. Furthermore, you need to think about what it would look like on a business card, as well as to imagine a prospect of turning your brand name into a domain name. The problem, however, lies in the fact that today there are more small businesses than ever before. This means that the most obvious options will usually already be taken. One of the ways you can deal with this is by talking to a professional about company name ideas for your startup.

3. Take a stand

Winston Churchill once said: “You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.” Although it is not in your interest to make enemies, by taking a stand you can also rally those who share your opinion. Look at it this way, as a relatively unknown brand you can’t lose an audience since you don’t have one. This is why, having some people agree and others disagree with you seems like a good outcome. Furthermore, by sharing opinions on matters of global or niche importance, you are taking first steps towards establishing your corporate identity.

4. Visual presence matters

Finally, you need to keep in mind that humans are beings that respond best to visual stimuli. As we already discussed, the way your company name looks on a business card is an important thing, but the same goes for your company’s logo and its colors. Try to envision every scenario where these two will appear together such as: your website, a banner in front of your headquarters and most of your promotional material. Once you take all of them into consideration it will be safe for you to pass a final verdict of sticking to it or going with something else.

Conclusion

Finally, keep in mind that the above mentioned four are completely universal. This means that these tips improve the standings of your brand regardless of its industry. The better you know your target demographics, the easier it will be to predict any market fluctuations. Needless to say, handling this like a champ the first time around sets you head and shoulders ahead of your competition.

Published by Dan Radak

Dan Radak is a Cloud Computing security professional. Currently employed as a consultant in couple of Web Hosting companies. Lately, he has been interested in web design. In his free time he likes travelling. You can reach him on Twitter.
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